Late free throw lift Taylor over HU women

Huntington University forward Sarah Fryman puts up a left-handed shot in close to the basket against a Taylor defender on Wednesday night, Dec. 3. The Foresters lost, 65-61. Photo by Scott Trauner.

Late free throws lifted visiting Taylor University to a 65-61 win over the Huntington University women’s basketball team on Wednesday, Jan. 3.

It was a tight affair from start to finish between the Crossroads League rivals. After taking a 17-10 lead in the first quarter, the Foresters found themselves trailing by two at halftime, 28-26, but refused to let the Trojans expand that margin, exiting the third quarter down by a single tally, 40-39.

While the final frame saw Taylor go up by as many as eight points, Huntington managed to trim that advantage to just a point, 59-58, with 1:10 remaining. That, however, is when the Trojans proceeded to make just enough free throws to stay in front by the end buzzer, scoring their final six points at the foul line to escape Platt Arena with the narrow victory.

The Foresters, 9-7, 2-3 in league play, got 16 points, eight rebounds and four assists from Brooke Saylor, who hit all eight of her field goal tries. The junior’s efforts on the glass helped give the hosts a 33-31 edge in that department.

The Foresters went 23 of 54 from the field for 42.6 percent. The hosts struggled from three-point land, where they made just 3 of 20 attempts for 15 percent. At the charity stripe, they added 12 points in 14 tries for 85.7 percent.

Taylor, 11-6, 4-1 in conference, was led by Kendall Bradbury, who tallied 20 points and grabbed eight rebounds. Cassidy Wyse tossed in 16 points for the visitors while Josie Cobb added 12 points.

The Trojans converted 20 of 51 field goal attempts for 39.2 percent and 18 of 27 freebie tries for 66.7 percent.